Good guy Google strikes again! The search engine giant is committed towards securing the internet and has launched multiple initiatives to achieve this. The “Good to know” campaign in India, a series of online workshops across consumer and industry groups, and the dedicated Safety Centre are some such examples. In keeping with the underlying theme of a secure Internet for all, Google has been conducting extensive tests over the past months to determine if sites using secure connections should rank favorably in their algorithm. The results have been positive and they have now announced it will specially reward those websites who have implemented SSL Certificates, and give them a slight boost in their SEO ranks. Currently this is a lightweight signal but with greater emphasis on security we expect this parameter to gain precedence as we go ahead. For a detailed explanation of their update you can refer to their blog post.

We thought it would be a good idea to reiterate some of the key points while using a SSL as recommended by Google:

Decide on the kind of certificate you need: single, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. Essentially, it is a security protocol that makes use of certificates to ensure that any data exchanged over the internet is encrypted. As a result, this protects against any third party from getting access to sensitive data.

To say security is a concern on the Internet is a gross understatement. From stories of Internet fraud to countless scams, users are becoming increasingly skeptical of sharing their personal data across the web. This is making it difficult for marketers to engage in online transactions. In order to combat this constant fear, many websites have chosen to invest in SSL Certificates, in an effort to position themselves as a safe and secure option for users to come to. Therefore, sites which make use of this feature are considered safer than those without it.

SSL is generally used to secure credit card transactions, transfer of sensitive data, login passwords and is being widely used by social media sites. Customers visiting your website will make sure your site is verified and secured with an SSL Certificate before making any monetary transactions or sending across any confidential data. Using SSL gives your customers the reassurance they need to proceed further on your website.

SSL helps users to verify that the site they are connecting to is, in fact, the company’s website and not an imposter’s website. Moreover, information provided through an HTTPS connection ensures that the data cannot be intercepted while it is in the process of being sent and maintains its integrity.

Using the much coveted SEO ranking as incentive, Google claims to boost websites SEO ranking if companies do decide to change from HTTP(Hypertext transfer protocol) to HTTPS(Hypertext transfer protocol secure). As explained in earlier posts, SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page on a search engine’s result page. What it really means is that the higher and more frequently a site appears in the search results, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users.

Hi there! I am part of the Brand Marketing team and manage brand campaigns, social media, events and all that other fun stuff. When I'm not buried in a book, I'm usually making the most of my Netflix subscription, studying the art of storytelling and keeping myself updated on all things pop culture.